Conversations with Raymond A. Moody, Jr & Eben Alexander III (DVD Review)

I received a complementary copy of this DVD for review purposes.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

You may have heard of Dr. Eben Alexander’s near death experience.  The victim of an e coli infection, Alexander was clinically dead for a week.  Alexander did not expect what came next – a visit to a spiritual dimension that his scientific training could not explain.  Alexander has shared his story in his New York Times best selling book “Proof of Heaven” in addition to appearing on media outlets nationwide.  I first became aware of Alexander’s story from his interview on Oprah’s Soul Series and on the Jeff Probst show.  While those interviews gave me a glimpse of Alexander’s ordeal, his most in depth interview I have heard yet is on the new DVD “A Conversation with Raymond L Moody Jr & Eben Alexander III”.  It is a compelling discussion between Alexander and long time Near Death Experience (NDE) researcher Raymond Moody.

“Dr Alexander’s experience is the most fascinating and amazing that I have heard in almost 50 years I have been investigating this phenomenon,” says Moody early in the program.  With his NDE background, Moody is the perfect host for the interview.  I liked how Moody relies on his own medical background and his experiences with other near death cases to pose intelligent questions to Alexander.  “I’ve seen your medical records – in a very real way you were dead,” Moody remarks which leads Alexander to say his disease was a “1 in 10 million” case that should have been fatal.

After the severity of his illness is established, Alexander delivers a vivid description of the heaven he experiences on the other side.  Tales of a murky existence suddenly interrupted by a bright spinning light, visions of riding on the wings of a butterfly with a beautiful young woman, soaring through scenic valleys and over villagers dancing in merriment.  This sounds more like words of a poet rather than a Harvard trained neurosurgeon!  I thought at first “what drugs was this guy on?”  Yet Alexander tells of an incredible love he experiences on the other side.  “You are loved, cherished dearly forever, there’s nothing you can do wrong  … you have nothing to fear,” his female companion tells him.  Alexander later discovers a link to this mysterious woman from his past – watch the video to find out what that is.

The primary message of Alexander’s story is the unconditional love of the spiritual dimension.  “The teaching just flowed … love is the tremendous overwhelming constituent of all that exists,” he says.  This message of God’s unconditional love resonated with me deeply, and caused me to consider that there was truth in the doctor’s story.  One other near death experience book I have read and reviewed, Anita Moorjani’s Dying To Be Me, also talks about this unconditional love on the other side of death.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Alexander has his critics.  The Center for Biblical Spirituality’s Donald Whitney asks “Where is Jesus in this experience?”  Skeptic Michael Shermer says it is “not likely” Alexander actually went to heaven.  To these critics I say: watch the video.  Alexander comes across as very intelligent and sincere in describing his experiences.  The logic of his story may be easy to pick apart by cynical minds, yet the feeling in which he tells of his adventure is genuine.  It is left up to each viewer to decide whether Alexander is credible.  I for one believe him.  If you are at all interested in near death experiences, I recommend this DVD highly.